Obsidian Entertainment’s 2019 space-based action RPG, The Outer Worlds, has already got quite a several awards under the belt of its spacesuit. It’s won such lofty titles as Big Apple Game of the Year and Most Promising New Intellectual Property. Now, it adds another accolade to the list, receiving a nod from the titans of the sci-fi genre in the form of a Nebula Award.
Awarded annually, the Nebula Awards honor science fiction and fantasy works across a variety of mediums. Awards are available for written works of all lengths, including “Short Story,” “Novelette,” “Novella,” and, of course, “Novel.” Film and television projects compete for the illustrious Ray Bradbury Award, and, since 2018, video games have been added to the mix with the creation of the award for Best Game Writing.
2019 saw Netflix’s combined interactive film and gaming experience Black Mirror: Bandersnatch takes the award, beating out God of War among other titles. Now, the 2020 incarnation of the Best Game Writing award has chosen to honor The Outer Worlds. Runner ups included the similarly named Outer Wilds as well as Disco Elysium, Fate Accessibility Toolkit, and The Magician’s Workshop.
You can read more about the categories and winners of the 2020 Nebula Awards here.
In The Outer Worlds, players take control of the mysterious “Stranger” as they work to develop the Halcyon colony, recruit NPCs, strengthen their Science, Medical, and Engineering skills, and ultimately take a side in the intergalactic struggle between various mega-corporations. It received praise for its writing, with the characters being lauded as “realistic” and “relatable,” while its tone struck the perfect balance between humor and sincerity.
Currently, The Outer Worlds is available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. A Nintendo Switch version, originally scheduled to debut in March, will be releasing later this month.
Congratulations to Obsidian and the entire Outer Worlds team on receiving this award for their truly “out of this world” writing!
